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February 9, 2010

Speakout: Feb. 10, 2010

Sacrifices
With the tentative state budget announced, school districts will now cry poverty. Well, after years of school-tax increases, now it's your turn to start making tough choices. Going out to a movie or a restaurant is becoming a luxury. Taxation defines what we can and can't do. Live free and prosper, ha ha, (struggle to survive) should be NYS new motto. How much more can we take? School administrators, it's time to get tough and make cuts that benefit the taxpayers. Our households have made tough sacrifices, now it's your turn.

Licking
Do not lick your fingers, touch an object, then hand it to me or another customer. In this day of H1N1 and everything else, let's be more considerate of others.

Speed
There are school-zone speed-limit signs by some schools, and not others. When the Cadyville school was open, there was no school speed limit on Route 3, and there isn't one by the Saranac high school on Route 3. Why do we have these speed limits all day long when there are no kids around for hours in midday? Speed-trap opportunity comes to mind.

Photos
The front page zoomed in photo of a woman's tears as her house burns shows the sensationalism, the tabloid mentality, and the lack of basic respect to someone who is suffering that this paper seems to relish. That shot did nothing to inform on anything important that happened. In the future, rather than a boring photo of an intersection with damaged cars when there's a car accident, I hope we get the photographer a pass to the ER for photos of gaping wounds and family members crying in the waiting room. Five bucks this doesn't get printed.

Help
Haiti, with everyone claiming the United States is dragging its heels in yet another disaster and we are slow to offer help. I say we try this next time — we sit back and wait and see what other country takes the lead and flips the bill to save thousands of lives. At least then we can honesty say, yeah, you caught us being callous and uncaring.

Headline
Thanks a lot Press-Republican. Local Prisons Doomed. As someone who works at one of these doomed prisons, I find it disheartening that you have to take such a negative tone to what involves people's livelihoods. Hey, but I guess anything to sell papers. Right?

Cuts
Gov. Paterson just released his budget concerns this week, and the North Country just received a huge blow, the closing of two correctional facilities. My major concern is why all of the major budget cuts must happen north of Albany. The North Country cannot take much more. There have been numerous job loses in this area. What about closing correctional facilities or have budget cuts that affect areas south of Albany? Our local elected officials must remind mainstream Albany there are other areas that can be looked at besides North Country jobs.

Budgets
It's crying time for local schools. Already, Malone is saying they will have a million-plus shortfall. It's nice how they tell you it will only cost you this much more per $1,000. Well enough, start making tough choices. How many teachers have lost their jobs because of budget cuts? My guess is none. Not that I want to see anybody lose their job, but haven't we had enough tax hikes? Tighten your belts and make some hard, serious choices. Or how about just property owners vote on school budgets, and let's see how that works.

Taxes
The only thing the state of New York knows how to do really well is keep putting taxes on everything. People go buy cigarettes and gas from the Indians because New York has put such a high tax on them. The lawmakers sit in Albany in the big offices and try to come up with more things to screw the poor people in New York. No wonder people leave this great state.

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